Before Richard Jones’s new production of Benjamin Britten’s coronation operaGloriana opens in June, we asked Director of The Royal Opera Kasper Holten why the Company has chosen to stage this, one of the composer’s rarer works.

He’s equally excited about the rest of the cast and creative team, assembled for the work’s first staging at Covent Garden since its premiere in 1953: ‘We have a great cast led by Susan Bullock and Toby Spence, conducted by Paul Daniel. We’re bringing the full resources of the Royal Opera House to show what a masterpiece it really is.’

Gloriana is the story of Queen Elizabeth I’s love for the impulsive Earl of Essex. Set towards the end of Elizabeth’s reign it is less historical romance and more a meditation on what it means to be Queen. The opera was created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. This new production, which is one of the highlights of the Britten centenary year, has been generously supported by the Britten Pears Foundation and has also received support from the Boltini Trust.